Every Election Matters, So Let's Get Out There and Vote
October 25, 2012
As we enter the home stretch of the 2012 campaign season, I can't help but get excited not just for the opportunity to vote on November 6, but also for an end to the constant barrage of political advertisements on television, radio and in my mailbox. I've always been a bit of a political junkie, but this is even too much for me. Sadly, with all of the political noise swirling around us, it's easy to lose track of the issues that matter to physicians and our patients.
I'm not going to say this is a momentous election with huge implications for the future of health care. Every election is momentous and every election has enormous implications for the future of health care. How can they not?
- Nearly 1 in 3 Americans receives health insurance from the federal government. Three major programs provide this coverage: Medicare, Medicaid and the military health care system.
- Altogether, government programs insured about 95 million Americans in 2010, or 31% of the population.
- In 2011, nearly 99 percent of older Iowa seniors, or 445,644, were enrolled in Medicare.
- The Iowa Department of Human Services estimates that the Medicaid program will enroll more than 698,000 individual Iowans over the course of state Fiscal Year 2013.
Our elected leaders make decisions every day that impact the practice of medicine and how our patients access care. So on November 6, let's get out there and vote and make our voices heard. Polls will be open statewide from 7 a.m. - 9 p.m.
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Election Edition Advocate
To help Iowa physicians understand what the election results mean for their practices, IMS will produce a special Election Edition Advocate the day after the election that will include the results of both state and key federal races, a spotlight on some of the races in which IMPAC (Iowa Medical Political Action Committee) was involved, and an analysis of what the results mean to the practice of medicine both nationally and here in Iowa. IMS members should watch their inbox for this Election Edition Advocate on November 7.
Robert A. Lee, MD
President, Iowa Medical Society